Sebelius pardons drunken driver

Action a first for governor; man can now enter Canada

State officials confirmed Wednesday that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issued her first executive pardon since taking office in 2003 to a man convicted of driving under the influence.

Benito Carrillo Jr., a procurement agent for Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems, said in an interview from Tulsa, Okla., that he was relieved the governor signed a pardon. He sought Sebelius' help because he had been blocked from traveling to Canada for business because of his criminal past.

"I do appreciate her allowing me to continue to do my business," Carrillo said. "It was a conditional pardon. It was not absolution."

About a year ago, he said, Canadian officials at the border informed Carrillo that his July 1999 sentence on the charge of drunken driving in Butler County precluded him from legally entering the provinces.

"I had made several trips and had never been stopped," Carrillo said. "One day they said, 'Hey, you can't be here.' "

"It's a rather embarrassing thing," he said. "That was during a dark time in my life. I had almost completely forgot about it, and would have, if the Canadian government had not reminded me."

Carrillo said Canada has rules limiting entry of foreign nationals for 10 years after a DUI conviction, even though he had long ago completed a one-year probation sentence ordered by a district court judge in Butler County.

He applied to Sebelius for executive clemency in an attempt to maneuver around the 10-year waiting period. The Kansas Parole Board recommended approval, and Sebelius signed an order that pardoned Carrillo to the extent he may travel to Canada when on assignment for AeroSystems.

"After due deliberation and being well and truly advised in the premises," the official document states, "I do hereby pardon Benito Carrillo Jr. for the aforesaid crime of one count of driving under the influence."

Carrillo said his current job assignment didn't take him to Nova Scotia as it once did, but there was comfort in knowing he now had proper paperwork to get into Canada if called upon.

The outcome could have only been better if Sebelius consented to a broader reprieve, he said.

"I may feel more elated if it was a full pardon," he said.

Nicole Corcoran, the governor's spokeswoman, confirmed the pardon was the first in Sebelius' six years as governor. Information about Carrillo's pardon became public record when a report of pardons issued in 2008 was submitted to the Kansas Legislature.